The Kraken's Sacrifice
by TheDrunkenWerewolf
Summary: AiGin mermaid/merman au. When the Kraken that rules over the merfolk wakes, prince Aizen goes out to hunt down its chosen human sacrifice. He finds the chosen human, or rather the chosen human finds him, and the pair fall for each other. Will Aizen be able to save Gin from the Kraken's jaws? Part 1 of the Merverse series. Mild angst, some humour and fluff. Definite romance story.
1. The Kraken Wakes

Business: I don't own bleach or its characters. I just own this story and its world, and the Kraken.

Wordcount: 1536

A/n: posting on my birthday again :) An AiGin mermaid AU this time. And Part 1 of what I'll call the Merverse (and the The Heirverse Kraken's little sister). Written because I'm AiGin trash... and weak for krakens.

To my Heirverse readers: I have not abandoned that series. I'm just taking a break with something a bit different. The heirverse kraken has mushed my brain. Face Stealer will drop hopefully soon and fisher drops in december 2019 as planned.

Notes: This is a romance story is inspired by a book called 'The Deep' by Helen Dunmore. So there may be some similarities to that as I got the idea for this after reading it. It's also inspired by The Mermaid by christina Henry. It will also feature a lot of family related angst and conflicts. Nonetheless I hope you enjoy.

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**Chapter 1: The Kraken Wakes**

The old king sighed as he looked at the ancient crystal ball that had begun to glow an ominous red as opposed to its usual white.

"So, it's that time again then, is it?" he muttered, shaking his head. "Has it been ten years already? Time does fly, doesn't it old friend."

He stroked his beard, his heart heavy. He never liked it, offering humans up as sacrifices to appease the monster that had been terrorising him and his people. But what could he do about it? There was simply no arguing with a god. Even a dark, fallen god like the Kraken.

The king sighed again, long and tired, feeling every bit his age. Nothing to do about it except summon his people for an Assembly and begin the hunt for this years chosen sacrifice. He just hoped this one would be easier to find than the last. They'd cut that one very fine with the deadline, and it was an experience the Mer king did NOT want to repeat.

A glance out of his window told him it was still night, and most of his kingdom would be sound asleep by now.

_Better let them sleep, _he thought to himself. _They deserve one last night of peace before I announce that the Kraken has woken again and strike terror into their hearts._

Nodding to himself, assured in his decision, he retired for the night. Although sleep did not come easily.

. . .

When the sun rose over the city, it didn't take long for word of the king's command for an emergency Assembly to spread. Sousuke groaned inwardly when he was told about it. Emergency Assemblies were never good things. Almost always they just devolved into nasty bickering and shameless fingerpointing and jockeying for position and power among the nobles present. Sousuke liked to avoid them, but being the prince of Undersea and the Heir to the throne made that impossible. His father had lectured him about it endlessly. _If you are going to rule the merfolk one day, you need to be involved in the affairs of the merfolk. _

Sousuke had disagreed, but the heaviness of the disapproval from his father when he tried to skip one such Assembly a few years ago was like a ton of bricks. So that was the end of that line of thinking.

So he swam along to the Grand Hall along with the others, unable to help feeling the tension in the water. It was even thicker when he entered the grand hall. So thick in fact he could cut it into slices and serve it with a plate of oysters.

It was in the hushed whispers of his people too.

"The Kraken... Awake... Devour us all..."

"Sacrifice... Human..."

Sousuke went still at the mention of the Dark God. Who hadn't heard the grim tales of old where the Kraken devoured Man and Mer alike, before it was sealed away aeons ago. It couldn't be killed, they said, so his ancestors did the next best thing: they sealed it away and kept it sated with offerings of human flesh. Sousuke shivered a little at the thought, though he didn't let it show outwardly. But still. Better one human life over the hundreds of merfolk. His tribe. His people. His family.

He pushed the thoughts away and wiped his face clean. Straightened his spine. He couldn't show any weakness here. He was the crown prince; he needed to act the part. Especially here with so very many important eyes watching him. Including one pair of eyes in particular.

Everyone rose from their stone carved seats as the king swam into the hall and settled behind the podium to address his people. Sousuke swam closer and took his place by his father's side and watched, learning, as his father held up his hand and the murmuring merfolk fell silent.

"People of Undersea!" The king addressed them, and not for the first time Sousuke was impressed how easily his father could invoke authority. He hoped one day to be half that good. He listened carefully as the king continued.

"It is under grave circumstances that I have gathered you all here today," he intoned, clasping his hands together on the podium. "The Kraken has awoken again and we must begin the search for his chosen human sacrifice at once, or else he will demand we sacrifice one of our own. And if we refuse then he will devour us all!"

There was the expected wave of quiet panic washing over the gathered merfolk, which the king stopped immediately by banging the staff of his trident on the stone floor.

"Enough!" he barked. "I know a lot of you here fear the Dark God. And rightly so. He could devour all of us if he so desired. But instead he has shown us some mercy. If we deliver him his chosen human sacrifice, he will spare all of us and rest for another ten years."

Sousuke, like so many of the merfolk here, nodded grimly. They all knew of the legend of The Kraken. The Dark God they all served.

"As we all know," the king continued, drawing all attention back to him again. "Time is of the essence. If we fail to deliver the sacrifice by the blood moon it will spell disaster for us all. We must act now. I hereby order every available Hunter to search for the chosen human."

The king gestured to the large reflective pool on the floor in the middle of the room where an image began to form. A magical mirror of sorts that served as the Grand Hall's centerpiece. The stone seating built up around it like the old Colosseums of the Roman Empire. Everyone craned their necks and leant forward in their seats to see.

"This is the human we have been tasked to find," the king told them all, and Sousuke looked, carving the humans face into his memory so he could better hunt him down. In the mirror-pool he saw a thin looking young man of about his age, with pale skin and squinted eyes. Not much of a specimen to be sure. Really the only distinguishing thing about him was his silver hair that almost seemed to glow in the sunlight. Other than that, the human didn't look very special. Sousuke wondered why the Kraken had chosen this one. Surely there was hardly any meat on those bones. But who was he to argue with the Dark God?

Not that it mattered. All it meant was that the human looked weak enough so it wouldn't be too difficult to subdue him, cast a spell so he could breathe underwater, and drag him down to the Deep so the Kraken could eat him alive. In fact, with all the strength and cunning he himself possessed, it would be really easy.

His clever mind was already formulating some plans, so he was only half-listening as his father gave everyone gathered their marching orders.

"I want this human found and brought back here as soon as possible," the king barked out. "Do whatever it takes. Use whatever resources we have at our disposal. I want the Seven Seas scoured. Every port and harbour searched. We will not rest until he has been found and sacrificed to the Dark God!" he intoned. Banging his trident on the stone floor again. Utterly absolute in his authority.

"You are all dismissed!"

. . .

Once the Grand Hall was cleared of merpeople, Sousuke swam over to his father, who was giving out last minute instructions regarding the Human Hunt. He waited respectfully until the soldiers were dismissed before greeting the king.

"Father,"

The king turned to face him and managed a smile as he looked at his son.

"Sousuke," he nodded. "It is good to see you."

Sousuke nodded. _Not that I had a choice in coming,_ he thought. But wisely he kept that thought to himself.

"I suppose you are here to ask if you can join in the Human Hunt," the king said. Sousuke nodded again.

"Yes, father, I am."

"Very well. You may. But make sure it doesn't interfere with your duties at the palace." the king warned. "In times of crisis such as this we need strong leadership or else we risk being usurped from our position."

Sousuke nodded. Already sick of nodding and itching for the open water. "Yes father. I understand."

"Hmph. Very good. You may go then, my son."

Sousuke bowed his head to his father, careful to show the proper respect and gratitude and not blow this chance to escape the stuffy palace walls and the confines of royal obligations – at least for a little while. He'd been so busy lately and his sealskin tail was itching for the salt of the open sea. For a chance to explore, hunt, adventure. Really _see_ the world and all it had to offer. Brnging back a human sacrifice to save his people was just the icing on the cake.

"Thankyou father," Sousuke answered. "I won't let you down."


	2. Capture and Release

a/n: still own nothing. Apart from this au. And Cherry.

wordcount: 2461

notes: Gin catching a big fish. Some ace/demi feelings on Gin's part because apparently that's become my headcanon now. Aizen being an angry wet catfish.

Enjoy.

**Chapter 2: Capture and Release**

Sousuke swam through the palace to the armoury to fetch his favourite net and harpoon. Useful tools for hunting and suitable for capturing humans, too. And so, armed with his weapons, as well as a bag of travel supplies, he set off. Making a beeline for the open water. When he was far away enough from the palace, he felt the water cool over his skin and his sealskin tail, and the blue around him grow darker and vaster. And as it did, Sousuke took his first free breath into his gills since swimming out. The palace, his father, and all of his other obligations receding in his mind like the tide as the sea came alive around him.

From now until he returned, there was only him, the wild free sea, and the Hunt.

The tightness he didn't realise he'd been holding in his chest loosened, and he swam out further into the wild blue yonder, not once looking back.

. . .

Meanwhile, somewhere on the shore of a small coastal fishing town, Gin was casting off his trawler, getting ready to go out and catch his next haul. And maybe a couple of extra fish for tonight's supper. He left the marina, smiling down at his little pet fox, who was still trying to find her sea legs as the waves rocked their boat. She had the softest white fur, and Gin had found her, nearly drowned, tied to a post on the beach. He'd gone and fetched her before the tide rose too high, and carried her bony, shivering form home under his shirt to keep her warm.

After nursing the very sick fox back to health, they were inseparable. She was always by his side. Gin suspected he was only paid as generously as he was for his daily fish hauls because of her. But Gin wasn't going to complain. If they wanted to pay a little extra for the pleasure of Cherry's company for a few minutes that was up to them.

He was glad he had Cherry, not just for the extra money. She earned her keep in entertainment alone; for he lived a very lonely life without her.

He couldn't help but feel his chest swell with affection and pride when he looked at her. Steady enough to stand unassisted on the boat now.

"C'mon, Cherry, let's go catch us some fish," he called out to her, and she yipped in excitement. He laughed, feeling in good spirits, and warmed by the early morning sun, they set off towards the sea. With Gin humming a shanty, and little Cherry howling along.

They reached the open water in hardly any time at all, and Gin inhaled deeply. Taking the fresh, salty sea air into his nose, letting it fill his lungs and invigorate him. The wind fresh and cool against his skin, blowing through his silver hair.

He always did like being at sea. Some might even say he liked it more than being on land. But there were good reasons for that. For one, there were no rules out here. No-one telling him how to act or how to be. How to live his life. Nobody to poke and tease him, however playfully, that he was getting on a bit and ought to find a nice girl to settle down with.

They were nice, and they meant well, and they probably wanted what they thought was best for him. But the trouble was, Gin just wasn't interested. There was nobody in the village or even the town that Gin felt even a _tiny_ spark for. And he didn't want to settle down with someone and then have to disappoint her later. But it was the norm – _expected_ – and Gin knew people were starting to think there was something _wrong_ with him. And not because of his eye colour, or his silver hair.

Some of the elderly women had taken to telling him he'd feel differently when he met the right person, but Gin wasn't so sure that was ever going to happen. But he'd long grown tired of trying to argue with them, so he smiled and paid them lip service the way he would at church. But still, Gin kept his uncertainties.

He sighed again and took in another deep, cleansing breath of the sea air. Cherry pawed at his leg, whining, dragging him out of his melancholic thoughts. His face morphed back into a bright smile as he looked down at her.

"Yer right, Che-Che, these here fish ain't gonna catch themselves, ne?"

Cherry wagged her tail and yipped in agreement, and Gin laughed. Already feeling lighter. "Right then, let's get this net out."

Cherry yipped again, her bright blue eyes sparkling with life, as Gin threw the net into the sea, wondering what they might catch today.

. . .

Several hours, and several nets of fish, later, Gin decided it was about time to head back. It had been a good fishing day, and the sea air had done him good. And with Cherry around to lift his mood, things couldn't be better. He'd already set aside some freshly caught cod for tonight's dinner – one each for him and Cherry, _after _he'd picked the bones out for her_ – _and he was already anticipating a quiet night by the fire curled up with Cherry and a good book. He was currently reading one about the Kraken, and it was getting good. It didn't matter in the slightest the fact it was really a book of sea myths for Children – it was still getting good. The heroes in it had just-

There was a noise just then, catching his attention. He wasn't exactly sure what _sort_ of noise it was, but Gin knew he'd heard _something._ Cherry must have heard it too, because she was also sitting and listening, on high alert. He moved slowly towards her, crouching down and putting a hand on her head reassuringly.

"Don't worry, I heard it too," he said softly. "It's probably just a seal er somethin'." he added, but really he was trying to convince himself that's what it was.

After all, seals didn't make noises like _**that.**_

THUMP.

Or thump the boat.

Gin gazed across the boat and then the surrounding water warily. He knew the sea was beautiful. But he also knew that like all beautiful ladies, she had hidden cruelties and dangers lurking within. The Sea could be as cruel a mistress as any, and she'd already dragged many sailors and fishermen alike down to an untimely watery grave.

That was when he realised the net was still down, weighed down by something heavy, and judging by the look of it, something was definitely caught in it.

Gin and Cherry both shared a look, and then turned their attention to the net winch again.

"Welp," Gin said, "Only one way to find out what it is."

He swallowed and made his way over to the net, to winch it up and see what he'd caught.

. . .

Sousuke snarled, not at all pleased with his current situation. Which right now involved being stuck in a large net, like some common trout. He scowled. This was NOT how things were supposed to happen and _especially_ not today. Not when there was so much at stake. Curse Poseidon. He'd been enjoying his day up until now.

"Blast this infernal net!" he cursed, hissing and thrashing his tail to try and free himself, only succeeding in tightening it around him. He looked down to the seabed below him at his knife and harpoon and cursed himself for dropping them.

"Fuck this. Fuck everything!" he raged. "Fuck it all!"

He huffed. Feeling like an angry wet catfish. And pissy as hell. If he had his knife he could cut himself free... he huffed. Next time he wouldn't be so dan careless. And he'd be more focused instead of drifting off into random daydreams. He swore again.

"Lousy humans. Why do they have to fish here at all? Isn't it enough to rule the land? Do they have to seek dominion over the sea, too?!"

He snapped and growled and thrashed, lashing out at the net holding him and sending spiteful thoughts out to the human who owned the net. "Nobody traps me." he gnashed his fangs, "Nobody. When I get my hands on you, you bastard, I'll-"

It was then that he felt the net move and start hoisting him up towards the surface. Good. He'd get to meet the human who'd captured him, and he was bristling for a fight. He might not have any weapons on him, but he had his teeth and his claws, and there was always his tail that could pack one hell of a whallop. He'd give this person a damn good thrashing and then make his escape.

At least, that was the plan.

So he waited to be lifted up and out of the water, more than ready to give this human hell for snaring him in this godawful net.

"Come and fight me human," he muttered. "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough."

. . .

Gin winched the net up, and was astounded when he saw what he'd caught. When he saw the creature properly, his breath was stolen from his lungs and his heart skipped a beat.

"Oh," he gasped, simply amazed by the ethereal being in his net. It was like a myth or a fairytale come to life before him.

In his net was a man with a body that looked like it'd been carved by Michaelangelo himself, it was so toned and muscular. Although in place of legs there was a long, elegantly shaped seal like tail of a light brown colour, matching his dark hair. It was dripping wet right now, but Gin could tell it would be nice and thick when it dried.

But the most startling thing about him was his eyes. So startling in fact, that when Gin looked into them, his own eyes actually opened wide. The beautiful creature's eyes were the colour of chocolate – a luxury Gin could seldom afford – and they seemed to be filled with as much surprise as his were. But those eyes still held their unearthly quality, and Gin felt the storm within them roll into him, and for a moment they were connected.

"You're beautiful," Gin gasped.

The creature snorted. Surprise melting away into a scowl. "Yes. I am also trapped in your awful net," he said. Bristling. Gin even thought his voice was beautiful.

"Release me, if you know what's good for you," the creature said, dangerously. "Release me from this thing at once!"

Gin jumped at the harsh words, jolted back to reality. "Holy crap... you're... you're a mermaid!"

The creature looked mortally offended. "Excuse _you," _he snapped. "I'm a mer_man!_ Now release me from this infernal contraption at _**once, **_you filthy peasant!"

Gin winced at the aggression and rage of the trapped merman hissing and snarling and hissing, fighting the net confining him and showing his fangs like an angry wet cat. Or would that be a cat_fish? _

"Jeez, okay okay, I'm sorry," Gin said, trying to appease the creature. "You're a merman."

The merman nodded. "Good. I am glad we could clear that up. Now, release me from this thing at ONCE!"

Gin stayed back, wary of the trapped creature's wrath.

"Release me NOW or you'll be sorry!" the merman snarled, thrashing his tail in a useless bid to escape his net.

"Maybe when you calm down a bit I will," Gin told him. Knowing better than to approach him when he was like this. Even Cherry knew to stay well back.

"WHAT?!" the creature growled at him. "I_ am _calm! Come over here and let me out _**now, **_or so help me..."

Gin snorted. "Yeh, real calm," he said, getting his thermos and pouring himself a hot drink. "When yer _actually_ calm, I'll come over an' let ya out."

The creature hissed and snarled and raged at this. Calling him every obscenity under the sun, it seemed, and threatening numerous methods of dismemberment, disembowelment and death. Even goading him to 'come on fight me then. Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough, I'll take you,' and so on and so forth. But Gin tuned him out. Which probably pissed him off even more, but there was no way in hell Gin was going to go anywhere near him in that state. So he just sat and drank his tea and waited for him to calm down.

. . .

It took a while, but eventually, the creature calmed down and stopped fighting. Looking like a grumpy catfish now as opposed to an angry catfish. His hair was almost dry now, and Gin was right in thinking it was thick. He had a sudden urge to run his hands through it. But he could also feel the creature's frustrations about being trapped, too. He should remedy that, now he had quieted down.

"Are you done?" Gin asked him.

The merman looked up at him sullenly, arms crossed over his chest. "Yes," he answered.

"Good," Gin nodded, and set down his thermos. He stood up from his seat and walked slowly over towards the net. The creature inside it eyeing him warily. All aggression replaced with a wary tension.

"I'm gonna get you out of the net now, 'kay?" Gin told him gently. "So try not to move."

. . .

Sousuke's brown eyes widened in surprise for just a moment before they returned to their skeptical gaze. "You're releasing me?"

"Yep," the human told him. "Now keep real still fer me an' I'll just..."

Sousuke blinked slowly and watched, intrigued and a little incredulous as the human worked to carefully undo the net holding him. Somewhere in his mind he knew that this was the human he'd set out to find and bring back to feed to the Dark God... but his mind was too intrigued.

"Why are you helping me?" he asked quietly. "Most humans would be crowing by now about how they'd captured a merman... wanting to put me on display in one of your 'circuses' or 'museums'."

The human thought for a moment as he worked. "Well," he said gently, "You're a wild sea creature, with a home, and I'm guessin' a family," he said, and Sousuke listened intently to his gentle voice. "You shouldn't be put in a cage," he said softly. "You belong in the sea."


	3. Lured

Illust- wolfiethewriter . tumblr / image / 187349656486

a/n– here you go Cat hope you enjoy. sorry this one's short. (Just over 1k words) I typed this on mobile version of word and god I hate mobile version of word. Let the art make up for it.

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Chapter 3: Lured

_You belong in the sea._

The words echoed in Sousuke's head even as the human cut him free. For a few seconds he floundered about like a fish on land for some words. Any words to say. But no words would come. Not even 'thankyou', which is what you're supposed to say when someone does something nice for you. He tried and tried to find some, to find his voice, to find his words. But they just wouldn't come out. It was as if he'd been struck dumb. Muted.

And yet he still floundered. Stuck in the net. Stuck in a very undignified position so unbecoming of someone of his status. A noble prince, caught and strung up like a common carp.

If his father could see him now, he'd be very disappointed.

He didn't have any time to dwell on it though, because very soon he felt the net loosen, felt gravity tug him downwards. And then he was falling, hitting the cold sea with a splash. Gasping as he submerged. The goosebumps rippling over his skin as his body readjusted to the very sudden change in temperature. Muscles tensing up with the cold and slowly relaxing as they grew accustomed to the water again. His tail curling around him automatically as a defence mechanism.

He floated there for a moment, as his body changed the way it breathed, and his mind slowly got its bearings again. And his thoughts steadily caught up with what had just happened. His seal tail very slowly unfurling itself and regaining it's function again. Stopping him sinking.

It was hard to believe what happened. It felt like a dream. A fairytale. A bedtime story told to the pups.

_Once upon a time there was a selkie who got caught by a human. The human felt sad at the creatures plight and set it free..._

But that's exactly what just happened.

_...and it confused the heck out of said selkie_.

A human had caught him. Captured him. And instead of crowing about it and selling him off like an object and to be gawked at like a freak, had released him back into the wild again.

It was hard to reconcile that with everything he'd ever been taught about humans.

_You belong in the sea_.

The human had set him free. But why? From the stories he'd heard humans were greedy, selfish creatures that thought nothing of enslaving merfolk. Or selkies. Or any rare, mythical creature even. Hell, they even captured the common land creatures and made them work for them. So no beast was safe. Less so seabeasts.

So it begged the question.

Why was he released?

Was it a trap? To lure him into a false sense of security?

He shook that thought off immediately. The human didn't seem like the type to do that. And Sousuke knew the type. He'd seen it enough times.

So then why?

_You belong in the sea_.

It was believed to be impossible, a human releasing one of their kind. And yet... and yet it happened. To him. It'd happened to him. Even after he'd hissed and fought and snarled and snapped. And hung there growling out threats of dismemberment and decapitation, and several variations of 'fight me, peasant!', the human had chosen to let him go free.

He had to wonder,_ 'why?_'

Because surely there had to be more to it than the answer the silver haired human gave him:

_You belong in the sea._

It was a true enough answer, sure. But there had to be more to it. Another move. Another angle. Another layer. Something. Because that's what everybody did; use him for their own personal gains.

Yet this human had done something unprecedented. Something so pure and so selfless it didn't make sense to him. In his experience, humans weren't selfless or compassionate. They were the opposite.

And yet... this one's voice resonated with him.

_You belong in the sea._

It resonated as he swam down to gather up his weapons. His harpoon and his knife from where they'd landed among the seaweed.

It resonated as he floated there with them in his hands, the gentle current flowing through his hair.

It even resonated as he looked up and watched the man's little fishing boat move off for home above him. The human and his little white companion safely on board. Going home. Back where they belonged. Just like he was back where he belonged.

_...in the sea_.

Though he couldn't help feeling a little bit empty as he watched the boat move further away from him.

Especially since it dawned on him anew that he hadn't even found out the human's name. Or, and this shamed him, thanked the human for setting him loose.

And now the little boat was moving away, he realised he never would.

Unless he did something about it.

Because he couldn't let it go unsaid. He had his honour, after all. I didn't matter in that moment he was the Sacrificial Human. The man had still let him out of his net when he could have very easily sold him on into slavery for a fortune.

That favour – no, that _debt_ – couldn't go unrepaid.

Later, he knew, the betrayal would come. When he'd drag that same human down to the Deep kicking and screaming, possibly crying, to the Kraken's lair to sate the Dark God's hunger. But he couldn't think about that now. He wouldn't. That was a problem for the future Sousuke. The traitor. For the moment, he was just Sousuke. Mystified and curious at the actions of a single human being. And completely in said human's debt.

So after a few moments floating almost in a daze watching the little fishing boat grow smaller and further away above him, he took a deep breath, feeling the water move in and out of him. And then he swam up and began to follow it. Lured by the invisible pull of this perplexing and most unusual human. Pulled along by what felt like the tug of an invisible string.

Maybe this was a fairytale after all.


	4. Longing

a/n: still ditching on heirverse and coasting on pre-written Fisher.

thanks to everyone who reviewed :) (Too tired and sick to list everyone right now but you're all appreciated). Nice to know people are reading and enjoying this one. Especially for this ship. And we always need more people on this ship. Always.

Again if you like this or any of my works please let me know so I know what to add to my list of "things to post more of and/or keep updating". At present it's a very short list :) Also feedback makes happy writers who happily crank out more content (at least when they aren't ill like I am at present).

Enjoy the chapter.

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**Chapter 4: Longing**

When Gin arrived home that evening, he ate dinner and immediately changed into his pyjamas and got comfy in bed. Ready to immerse himself in the book he was reading. He'd just gotten to the good part and wanted to see what would happen next. But whenever he tried to read, his mind drifted away. He tried to bring it back, refocusing on the pages in front of him, but it was no use.

He kept thinking about the merman.

Such a beautiful creature! The very essence of myth and legend. A real live mer-creature! Rangiku would never believe it. He would've shown her proof, only he'd released it back into the sea.

_Where it belongs, _he thought. With a little bit of sadness and a weight in his heart.

A part of him wished he'd gotten to talk to the mer-creature a bit more. He had so many questions about the sea and life under it. What was it like? Was it dark down there? Were there really terrible sea monsters down there or was that just made up to scare people and stop them from trying to visit?

Did the Kraken really exist?

He sighed, giving Cherry a little scratch behind the ear. He guessed he'd never get to ask those questions, so he'd never know the answers.

_But he's back home now, _Gin tried to tell himself to feel better. _He's back in the sea where he belongs. You did the right thing. _

Cherry whined and nosed his hand, giving him a quick sympathy lick. Gin just sighed again.

_But if I did the right thing... why do I feel so sad?_

He lifted his gaze from his fox and looked out the window. The moon loomed overhead, brilliant and full, illuminating both the land and sea with its glow. That, and the background noise of the waves crashing against the shore, made it the ideal place to live.

Peaceful. Quiet. Away from people.

But tonight, he could find none of that peace _or_ quiet. His mind was simply far too restless, and his soul was not peaceful. It only seemed to ache. How could it not, when all he could think about was that wonderful, magical creature he'd encountered just a few hours earlier.

Sure, the creature had thrashed about and cursed him and snapped and hissed like an angry wet catfish... but when Gin was cutting him free, he could've sworn there was wonderment in those eyes, too. Wonderment and loneliness. Even if just for a moment.

A storm had been raging in those deep brown eyes, a storm that rolled straight into Gin's heart and lodged there. Which would explain why he felt so restless tonight.

_I wonder what he's doing right now, _Gin wondered. _Where he is. Who he's with. _

_Or if he's thinking of me._

Cherry yawned and stretched herself out on the bed, making herself even more comfortable (if that was even physically possible). While Gin sat and listened to the sounds of the sea outside. Pondering about the merman. And if he was looking for him.

Surely it was possible...

Gin was struck with a sudden urge to grab his coat, pull on his boots, and go outside to watch the shoreline and the sea for his merman. He didn't know what possessed him, but he was up before he could stop himself. Boots laced, coat on, scarf wrapped around him to keep the chill at bay. Cherry jostled from her comfy spot on the bed and none too happy about that.

But by the time she got to glaring at him, he was already out the door, traipsing over the grass on the cliffside. Standing watching the dark waves in the distance. Cherry followed him, nosing and pawing him. Her way of saying "come back inside!"

But Gin was too transfixed by the waves to listen.

He stood watching the dark sea, hearing the wind howl. Eyes fixed on the darkness, straining to see, _just in case he might show up. _The wind running through his hair and tugging at his coat and scarf like an insistent, tempestuous lover. A mistress jealous of his first love and the owner of his heart: The Sea.

_The merman. _

But minutes came, and minutes went, and his heart only sank. Like a stone, sinking to the very bottom of those waves.

Usually he found these shores idyllic.

But tonight, they only seemed to be shores of loneliness.

It took Cherry barking loudly at him over the wind that ruffled his hair and her coat of fur to bring him back to his senses again. He blinked, and then leant down to stroke her gently. The spell broken, at least for the moment.

"Yer right, yer right," he nodded, crouched down and stroking her soothingly. If only to reassure her that he wasn't about to jump off the cliff and into the sea just yet. "'m bein' ridiculous, huh?"

She yipped in agreement and grabbed his pyjama leg with her teeth to pull him back in the direction of their cottage, and he laughed. Another sound carried away by the howling wind.

"Okay, okay! I'm goin' back inside now!"

Cherry yipped in approval and then proceeded to herd him into the cottage, like some sort of sheep-fox. With Gin chuckling at her antics the whole walk back.

. . .

When the front door was closed and locked, the storm safely secured outside and the pair of them safely inside in the warm again, Gin took off his boots and hung his coat up on the hook. Along with his scarf.

Cherry watched him, making sure he was actually going to _**stay**_ inside this time, and then followed him quite happily as he trudged back to bed and crawled under the covers again. With Cherry jumping up and settling down beside him.

Gin smiled at her as she yawned and stretched out comfortably again ad closed her eyes to sleep. Sighing heavily. He was glad he had her. He settled down with his head on the pillow, one hand absent-mindedly stroking her fur, and sighed softly. He supposed he should be happy with his lot. He had a home, a steady job, friends, a lovely fox for company... what more could he ask for?

And he'd even been lucky enough to see a real-life merman.

Not everybody got to see magic like that up close.

He sighed again and closed his eyes. Thinking of the merman again...

_No, _he told himself. He'd had his brush with magic. He shouldn't want for more.

And besides, the merman had his life to get back to, and Gin had his, such as it was.

He tried to remember that as he slowly drifted off to sleep. His dreams full of undersea adventures, weird and wonderful sea creatures, magic, and the merman. Tomorrow, real life would resume. But tonight, he'd allow himself to dream of all the wild possibilities. And magic.


End file.
